Definitely Not Hercules
by Ragingceliac
Summary: Zoe saves Percy from a group of monsters, and in the aftermath, comes to a realization.


**Note: "Ara" is the singular form of "Arai". It's weird.**

* * *

 **Zoe frowned** when she heard crunching.

Something was near her and Bianca's car. With narrowed eyes, she looked out her window, seeing the figure of the male that had forced himself onto their quest - Perseus Jackson - walking down their traincar. The night was silent, which meant the crunching of his shoes on the snow most definitely stood out. It took her less than a moment to see that something was bothering him; the hunching of his shoulders was a clear sign, but she noted more subtle things, like the stiffness of his stride and the way his fists kept clenching and unclenching as he walked.

He'd get himself killed like that, she thought. She'd watched that happen once; a brilliant girl had been recruited, and had served well for decades. She was impressive, and well above any male they encountered, but when her brother died of natural causes she didn't take it at all well. She stormed off, just like Perseus, and by morning she was dead, slain by a group of rogue dracaena. Another thing men ruined, she thought. Not that she was particularly concerted over Perseus's fate, really, but she had to admit losing a fighter like him wouldn't make her job any easier. She shrugged. That satyr of his would probably come running for him soon enough.

Zoe glanced back at Bianca. The girl was resting well, all things considered. The Nemean Lion was not the monster she would have chosen at all to be her first real battle; it slew fully grown demigods, let alone twelve year-old girls with no experience in the godly world. She hoped that brother of hers - Nico, if she remembered correct - wouldn't be the death of her. Bianca shifted in her sleep, like she was uncomfortable, but then a second later Zoe saw her breathing level out. Something unintelligible slipped from her lips, and she filed that away minorly. Perhaps it would come up later.

Zoe had just about closed her eyes when she noticed no hoof prints were following those of Perseus. She narrowed her eyes. Was that Grover really that incompetent? Though she was certain Jackson was nowhere close to her power, it was not every day an eleven year-old defeats Ares. If he got lost… well, the quest would be closer to 3 at least, she thought. She would be able to pass it off as she were asleep easily enough. That the boy simply walked away and brought that fate on himself. After all, the less males there on the quest to get in her way, the better it was. And besides, and sooner she got her sword back, the faster she could have Lady Artemis destroy it for good. Yes, she decided. She'd let the boy do what he wanted. If that was death by celestial bronze, who was she to impede him?

And yet, she could not get herself to sleep. She lay there for far longer than she should have, her breathing steady, but her mind not quite able to quiet itself. Bianca murmured in her sleep again. Zoe wondered what the girl was dreaming about, hoping the girl's mind was smart enough to not focus on her brother. Someone as insignificant as that did not deserve to occupy the headspace of a female with so much potential. Then Zoe turned over, something she hadn't consciously done in a good score of years.

Her mind would not let go of the image of Perseus walking away. Or, more accurately, her conscience would not let go of it. You are many things, it said, but someone who lets people die is not one of them. Even if that someone is a male who is definitely going to get himself killed one of these days. Zoe internally sighed as she opened the car door and got out, quietly grabbing a flashlight on the way.

She raised her hood against the cold, glancing around the cars; the one that Grover and Perseus had - or possibly just Grover, depending on how the night went - was quiet, with its lights off. Zoe rolled her eyes. A titan could be rising but it seemed male stupidity transcended species. Thalia, that stubborn one, also had her car's lights out, though by the shifting Zoe just barely made out, she was anything but asleep. Zoe turned her flashlight on and shined its beam around her until it found Perseus's footprints. With an annoyed shadow over her eyes, she began to trace them.

Why did this quest have to be so complicated? Zoe already had enough on her hands, from keeping Thalia in check to leading a quest a body over its size, let alone an angst-ridden boy along with it. She scowled, stifling a yawn before it could make her eyes water. She had to stay focused. She was over three thousand years old, and most certainly not going to perish saving the hide of a moody male hero.

The tracks lead her to the end of their car. Perseus was nowhere to be seen. Zoe shined her flashlight's beam around her briefly, in a perfect one hundred and eighty degree arc, before finding tracks on the _roof_ of the next car. For moment she was legitimately shocked at the sheer stupidity of Perseus that implied, before sighing exasperatedly - audibly this time. Whilst glaring furiously, she climbed up, careful to go slowly, as to not slip and fall. When she got to the top of the car, her hood fell back as she pulled herself up. The wind blew harshly, sending a strand of her hair out of place. The huntress tucked it back, raising her hood again, and continuing to follow Perseus's tracks.

As it turned out, they went across several cars. Four more, if Zoe was exact, a fact that did not pair well with the fact that she was sleep-deprived, slowly growing hungry, and her yawns were getting stronger. She shook her head, a half-formed greek curse crossing her thoughts when she heard a cry of pain from under her. She frowned, glancing around, her free hand drifting toward her waist. She kept a small celestial bronze dagger there for safety, certainly not enough for her to feel well-armed, but dangerous enough to give sharp. Her hand closed around it and pulled it out of its sheath; the handle had been made by an impressive lumber worker in Oregon, a daughter of Demeter who started her own lumber mill. Zoe chased a large monster off of her mill, and in return the demigod made her a special knife with the assistance of her husband, a son of hephaestus. Zoe valued it greatly. If she lost it because of this Perseus, she would have several choice words.

There was another cry of pain from under her. Zoe wasted as little time as she could getting off the roof of her traincar, and when she leveled her flashlight at the door, she saw an empty car, with only the occasional crate inside it, as well as something that made her blood run cold.

Perseus was in the car, his nemean lion pelt absent from him. His clothes appeared to have been seared in several places and, most salient to Zoe, were the figures surrounding the boy. They looked leathery, and her flashlight revealed that they were reddish rather than black. Their shapes were vaguely feminine, enough to the point that she immediately knew what they were: _arai._ At least three dozen of them, crowded toward the back of the car where, like some strange, golden strobe light Perseus swung his sword. Zoe should've scoffed at least the tiniest bit at that, but the expression on the boy's face was enough for that urge of hers to stop, if for the briefest moment.

She'd only encountered _arai_ (Thankfully) barely more than a score of times in her tenure as a huntress. They were difficult to beat, with the only options being either to kill them all and hope you can deal with the curses, or attempting to sprint past the pack and escape. Both ways were painful, strenuous affairs. Her first battle with _arai_ had very nearly been the death of her, and she wasn't the same for a month. The curses that had been inflicted upon her… she nearly shivered at the memory of them. A male like Perseus? It would be a miracle if he were to survive, let alone to make it out anywhere close to alright.

That is, she thought, if he were to fight them alone.

Zoe's flashlight beam struck Perseus's face. The _arai_ turned to look at her. Percy's eyes were red, filled with confused, pained panic. He was silently pleading. _Make it stop. Make it stop._ Zoe flipped her grip of her knife so she was holding the blade, and then threw it as hard as she could into the crowd of _arai_. It sliced through five of the demons with ease, leaving nothing behind but dust. Mentally, she prepared herself.

A bow appeared in her hand as she put away her flashlight. She grabbed an arrow from her pack, knocking it. She ducked and rolled to the left as an _ara_ surged forward, slashing without abandon. She pulled the arrow back and let it fly through the demon, immediately pulling out another. She didn't bother knocking it, though. She swung it around her front in a wide arc, making a group of another three _arai_ take wary steps back. The huntress wasted no time in dropping into a low crouch, sweeping the legs of one of them while raising her bow to intercept the slash of another. The third, upon seeing this display, made a beeline for a box.

Zoe got back to her feet, jumping up to thrust her arrow into one of her two remaining demons. It was then the first of her curses hit her. She felt a raking pain across her back which made her grunt, yet she really wanted to scream from how hard it was. Her opponents didn't let up. The remaining _ara_ tried to take advantage of that, claws angled to cut a diagonal gash from her left shoulder blade to her waist. Zoe swung her arrow again, catching the _ara_ 's wrist before it could reach her. She winced as another curse hit her; a panicked despair so intense that she nearly dropped her weapons. There's too many of them, a voice said. Give up now and run. Leave the boy to his fate.

"Zoe!" Percy's voice cut through, cracking on the last note. The huntress in question looked toward the sound. She saw that the _arai_ still had him surrounded and overwhelmingly outnumbered. There was water in his eyes at this point, and his sword tip had dropped significantly. He was shivering, cutting down themwith slower and sloppier swings. Zoe gave him a minute more, at max. As soon as she thought that, five more _arai_ chose to fan out around her. She glared at them.

Another curse took its effect. Her legs suddenly felt about fifty pounds heavier. Her knees buckled. The _arai_ all attacked a once, and Zoe stumbled back, nearly losing her balance. As she did, she held her arrow in front of her, grip firm as iron. She wouldn't die here. Not like this, she promised herself. The car had two exits. Percy was at the other end of the car, which meant he was probably close to the other exit. She had to get there. She took a breath as the _arai_ leered at her. Her glare deepened.

She surged forward, thrusting her arrow out as if to stab the _ara_ directly in front of her, but spun right before she would've hit them. Now facing another, much less prepared-looking one, she stabbed it and its friend. Zoe sprinted right through the opening she'd made for herself into the crowd that was clearly moments away from killing Percy. She slid into the crowd, grabbing the nemean lion coat, swinging her arrow at the ankles of the _arai_. Dust appeared around her as a fourth and fifth curse afflicted her. Her throat felt like it was on fire, followed by an itch in her nose. She would've scoffed if she'd been able to.

She hacked into the crowd, likely obtaining a dozen more curses along the way. When she reached Percy, he looked horrid; his clothes were in even worse shape, and the water she'd seen in his eyes was nothing compared to the noticeable stains on his shirt - which Zoe highly doubted were sweat. She stabbed an _ara_ about to hit him and grabbed his wrist.

"Come on, Jackson!" she said as she rammed her shoulder into the backdoor. The crowd of _arai_ attempted to grab her, but she wrenched herself out of their grip, just as she felt another tidal wave of despair. Zoe almost stopped moving. But the look in Percy's eyes - the glazed-over, horrified shock they held brought her back. She was saving someone who couldn't save himself. Come on, Nightshade. You aren't going to die for this male.

She slammed the door behind them and rushed into the next car, as fast as she could, and locked the door behind them. For a second, she just breathed. After another moment, she took out her flashlight. She shined it around the car and it appeared (Thank the gods) to be empty. She directed the beam to the ceiling and glanced at Percy, wincing.

"Is thee alright?"

Percy was looking at the ground. Shivers wracked his frame.

"I… I never t-thought about it from…" he trailed off, and Zoe noted how cold his wrist was. She wouldn't be surprised if he fainted, from how the light painted across his face. He shivered, and she let go of his wrist, placing his lion pelt around his shoulders. She stepped back to a respectable distance.

"Percy," she said, and he took a deep breath. "Is thee alright?" he was silent for a space.

"Yeah," he breathed, "What… what were those?" to Zoe, his tone indicated that he really didn't want to know.

" _Arai_ ," she told him, "Spirits of vengence. They normally would only be encountered in Tartarus. How they got here…" she trailed off. She knew Hades didn't control _arai_ , or at least thought he didn't.

"Are they like, servants of Hades?" Percy asked, cutting into her train of thought. Zoe blinked at him, and then she scowled.

"No. But he probably made a deal with this group of them," she said through gritted teeth.

"To get to me." Percy stated. Zoe frowned at him. Percy looked down again. "When I was getting Zues's master bolt he had my mom in his palace. He tried to use her against me. Err.. long story short when it came down it he tried to kill me and I escaped from his palace right under his nose. I also kinda accused him of stealing the master bolt." the boy raised his eyes to meet Zoe's, and she just nodded at him.

"That is… impressive," she said, sounding very grudging. Percy looked away, but she swore she saw a hint of pink dusting his face.

"Uh, thanks," he responded quietly. Zoe snorted internally, wanting to shake her head, but the way Percy's shoulders slumped exhaustedly she kept the urge down. "Should we head back to our car?" Zoe nodded.

"Yes, we should," she agreed, "And this time, let us not walk on the roofs?" Percy gave a dry chuckle and gingerly took a step forward, nearly tripping. Zoe caught him, silently putting an arm around his shoulders. He hesitated for a few seconds before doing the same to hers.

"Thanks," he said, and Zoe nodded. This male, she reflected as they walked back, was better than most, it seemed. Not even close to perfect, but better than most. And when she looked at his face, and the sheer terror she'd glimpsed in it - the desperation, the gratitude - she was sure of one thing: he definitely was not Hercules.

* * *

 **Those two are lowkey my otp. Fight me.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this. It was interesting to write, and trying to hone my subtlety. Feel free to tell me what you think, because i'd love to hear it. Any and all favorites will be duly (And blushingly if I'm honest) noted. 'Till next time.**


End file.
